Birgitte Rodh offers consultancy, concepts, texts, activism.
Her focus is on genetics, microbiome, biohacking, nutrigenomics, personalized diet, environmental issues, and social design and art.
Birgitte Rodh: "I share cutting-edge knowledge and creative health and life strategies that can help us improve our personal environment and our health. And as there is no such thing as one size fits all, I support a personalized approach. However, I do not treat or cure any conditions. My aim is to empower my clients to do better!"
Now how can Birgitte Rodh help you?
Send her an email and tell her about yourself and she will tell you more about her services...
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Birgitte Rodh: "About me"
"More than 20 years ago I took a master’s in Aesthetics and Culture, focusing mainly on the Body in Culture and Illness as a Metaphor. Later on, I worked as an artist, a curator and as a creative developer of concepts and designs for food, body, health and "hygge". However, then I became sick, I became a patient - and this changed everything. You know what I mean if you have struggled with chronic illness or long term disorders yourself. For the rest of you: it is incredibly tough, and it is so easy to lose sight of direction.
In order to handle my unfortunate new situation, I consulted a long list of physicians as well as some practitioners of more alternative health strategies - but with no real success. None of them seemed to know how to cure me or even relieve my health problems. And so in the end, I saw no other options than to take charge of my own health. I began a personal field trip into modern science and knowledge-based studies - I became a biohacker, distilling science-based knowledge into self-based experiences.
Both then and now, I mainly use real food and careful planned dieting for this purpose. And then things slowly began to change for the better... and better. I was licensed as a coach and started to share what works with friends and then after a while with clients. Now I work with clients from all over the world - I’m based in beautiful Copenhagen in Denmark, but we talk online. I offer health consultancy, do creative health concepts, write articles about health issues, and engage in health and environmental activism. And I am back again working in the field of social design and art. I guess I’m kind of a health nerd, but at the same time I look at the bigger picture.
Gene testing: Digging deeper for root causes to health issues
– Do you struggle with chronic fatigue? Do you react to food? Or do you experience multiple symptoms of inflammation? And are you trying to find suitable treatments for your problems? Maybe now is the time for a gene check?
Humans have thousands of genes, and we all have some variations in our gene code that make us unique. These variations are called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). Some of these variations are functional, like for hair color or bitter taste, some have little or no impact and others can cause devastating health issues. Read more
Contact Birgitte Rodh if you need assistance for analyzing your genes and customizing a diet and supplement plan that matches your genetic make up and targets your specific needs. Birgitte Rodh also supports treatment plans from either integrated or allopathic practitioners.
Microbiome testing: We are not alone
Within your colon there lives and works more bacteria than all humans who have ever been born. Yet many of us continue to assert that it is we who are in charge of the world.
In the scientific community however, bacteria are now the flavour-of-the-moment. Research teams across the world are investigating the role of the Human Microbiome, that community of microbiota – bacteria, viruses, phages – that live on our skin, our mucus membranes and in our gut.
But why are these bugs so important? Increasingly, research is showing that each of these microbiota produce substances on which the human body relies for survival and good health. More research still needs to be done to establish what this means for medical practice, but right now a crowd funded research project named uBiome is sequencing and mapping the human microbiome for less than $90 US, so we ourselves can explore and get insight in our individual gut microbiota. This unparalleled access to the latest science is offering valuable tools for biohacking and changing things in a big way.
Contact Birgitte Rodh if you want assistance in interpreting data from uBiome and suggesting probiotics and prebiotics that can support your specific gut biome.
Genes and thyroid imbalances
Our genes play an important role in how our thyroid works and how our body produces and converts the different forms of thyroid hormone.
Using raw genetic data can give us an idea of areas that may be genetic weaknesses for us, pointing to new approaches to managing our thyroid issues. This is important because thyroid hormone levels play a vital role in how we feel and in our overall good health. Thyroid hormones affect every cell in the body and control many functions such as metabolism, heart rate, body temperature, muscle contractions, and digestive functions.
Hypothyroidism is caused by too little thyroid hormone. T3 is the active form of thyroid. The thyroid gland produces and releases much more T4 than T3 (around 90% more), but enzymes can convert T4 to T3 in our tissues and organs. The deiodinase (DIO) gene encodes a protein that converts T4 to T3 and is involved in the degradation of both T3 and T4 - but if for example the DIO 2 gene SNP rs225014 is mutated it can decrease DIO2 enzyme and the T4 to T3 conversion, leaving us with too little T3.
So why would this genetic mutation be important?
Because the most common prescription for hypothyroidism is T4 only!
Beside this, a personalized diet - based on an individual gene profile among other - can make a great difference if you have hypothyroid symptoms.
Contact Birgitte Rodh if you want assistance in analyzing your genomic raw data and figuring out if your conversion is challenged - as well as gaining insight in many more issues related to your thyroid as well to your general health.
What does it mean?
Biohacking (health analysis and counseling): Hacking into the biology of the human body - Birgitte Rodh promotes this strategy for health issues.
Gene SNP’s (gene testing and analysis): The study of variations in gene expression. Birgitte Rodh analyzes and informs about the so-called gene SNP’s, that are associated with certain traits, conditions and diseases.
Microbiome (bacteria testing, diet and supplements): The microorganisms in a particular environment - Birgitte Rodhs main focus is on the gut microbiome and on how diet and probiotics can support gut balance.
Nutrigenomics (personalized diet): The scientific study of the interaction of nutrition and genes - especially with regard to the prevention or treatment of disease.
Food intolerances: Could it be histamine overload?
If you experience headaches or migraines or for no apparent reason feel tired and nauseous, it can be caused by too much histamine. This can happen when your body either releases more histamine than desirable or if your body has a decreased capacity of the enzymes necessary to break down histamine.
One source of histamine is from degranulating reservoirs in the body – the so-called mast cells. Another is from foods, like those which contain fermented or even spoiled proteins. In these foods, the amino acid histidine is converted by bacteria to histamine, like in aged cheese, yogurt, soy sauces, sausage, fish that are not completely fresh. The decreased capacity of histamine degrading enzymes can be due to a genetic defect or could be acquired due to, for example, medicines like antibiotics and NSAIDs. Some other medicines are mast cell degranulators: ie. Codeine and morphine. In those places in the body where the concentration of histamine raises too high, symptoms will occur. Examples of skin reactions are eczema, redness, and itch. Digestion of histamine or mast cell degranulators that trigger the release of histamine will cause irritable bowel. Too much histamine in your bronchi causes asthma.
New diet
Most people who are sensitive to histamine find that their symptoms will disappear or be reduced if they lower the level of histamine in their diet. Some foods that are well tolerated are kale, carrots, pumpkin, blueberries, pea sprouts, fresh meat from chicken and lamb. It is sometimes best to boil your food, so soups are ideal. The best way to diagnose histamine intolerance is by following an elimination diet where you remove trigger foods that are high in histamine or known to be mast cell degranulators
Contact Birgitte Rodh if you suspect you are sensitive to histamines and want to know more about how to navigate in a high histamine landscape.
Intolerances: What do you do if you or your child react to food and nobody seems to listen?
Perhaps you have discovered that you or your child is not thriving and seems to react to some foods like gluten. But then, to your surprise, your GP doesn't take you seriously because you don't test positive to either celiac disease or allergies. The real problem is, she is actually quite in tune with the recommendations of the National Board of Health, as they don't take food intolerances seriously either. But as some people tend to feel better when they avoid gluten, the leading researchers of celiac disease, like Dr. Alessio Fasano, (director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital) now refer to their condition as “non-celiac gluten sensitivity” (NCGS). The rationale is: If symptoms go away when you go off gluten, and you can eliminate wheat allergy and celiac as possibilities, you have NCGS. Check the criteria for Diagnosis of Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) here
So could the same strategy work for other intolerances?
And how do you manage to detect which food intolerances you have when your GP can't help? Is it even possible to be properly nourished? And what if you are forced to accept that your child is only served a menu in kindergarten with grains and other foods it reacts to because you can't show a medical certificate...
Contact Birgitte Rodh if you want to talk about how to navigate if you or your child feel better without gluten, milk or other foods...
Salicylate intolerance: Are your veggies attacking you?
Most people have heard of food allergies and sensitivities to wheat, dairy and peanuts, but not many know about salicylate sensitivity. If you are suffering from asthma, rashes, migraines or irritable bowel syndrome you might however have salicylate sensitivity and be intolerant to many fruits, vegetables and herbs. Research shows that about 20% of adults with asthma (1), 60% with of people with food-induced itchy rashes, headaches or migraines, and 70% of people with irritable bowel symptoms (2) may be sensitive to salicylates. At the same time, most people with salicylate intolerance have no idea what could be affecting them.
The creative approach
Sometimes in life we must be creative, and if you are struggling with salicylate sensitivity, creativity is certainly needed. You can be on a very limited diet and still eat healthy. It does take a little extra energy though because you can’t pick up a cookbook and just start cooking; you pick up the cookbook and start substituting!
Contact Birgitte Rodh if you need input for a healthy low salicylate diet and lifestyle.
(1) Jenkins C, Costello J, Hodge L. Systematic review of prevalence of aspirin induced asthma and its implications for clinical practice. Brit Med J 2004;328(7437):434.
This review found that many adult asthmatics are sensitive to salicylates and are aware of their sensitivity.
2) Loblay RH, Swain AR. ‘Food intolerance’. In Wahlqvist ML, Truswell AS, Recent Advances in Clinical Nutrition. London: John Libbey, 1986, pages 169-177.